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The Florida Republican’s request was viewed by White House officials as a nonstarter, the people told the Times, and was ultimately never granted.
The Times reported Tuesday that it’s unclear what Gaetz knew of the inquiry at the time of his request, and he didn’t tell White House aides when he sought the pardons that he was under investigation.
Some Trump associates have theorized in recent days that Gaetz’s request for multiple pardons — not just for himself — was a move to disguise his own potential legal exposure, the newspaper said.
A spokesperson for Gaetz, however, denied to the Times that his pardon request was related to the Justice Department investigation.
“Entry-level political operatives have conflated a pardon call from Representative Gaetz — where he called for President Trump to pardon ‘everyone from himself, to his administration, to Joe Exotic’ — with these false and increasingly bizarre, partisan allegations against him,” the spokesperson told the outlet.
“Those comments have been on the record for some time, and President Trump even retweeted the congressman, who tweeted them out himself.”
A person briefed on the probe confirmed to CNN that federal authorities were investigating Gaetz as part of a broader probe into trafficking allegations against another Florida politician, an investigation that began in the closing months of the Trump-era Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr.
Gaetz has not been charged with any crimes and the investigation is still in its early stages, according to sources familiar with the matter.
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